Without putting a complete dampner on things, stats like these dont matter when things are going well, 3 or 4 bad results and we will be back to beating the manager over the head with them. He really does need to address this and fast, I dont think it is sustainable and we are quite reliant on luck at the moment.Surely there is enough talent in the squad to improve this!?
One shot, we only need one shot.
Aston Villa have surprised a lot of people, including me, with the way they have started the season, but if you look at their statistics their success might come as even more of a shock.Villa, who take on Arsenal on Saturday, are unbeaten and second in the table after taking 10 points from their first four games, including a victory over Liverpool at Anfield last weekend.When Villa boss Paul Lambert signed a new contract this week he said his team were making progress, and put that down to their hard work.He is definitely right about the hard work, but any 'progress' is more debatable.Results have improved dramatically but the team is not doing anything differently to last season when they struggled, and Lambert was under pressure after losing a club-record 10 league games at home.In fact, in almost every other way, Villa are doing worse.They have won three out of their four games despite managing a total of only six shots on target all season, the fewest in the top flight. They have scored with four of them.And their stats for passing, passing accuracy, possession, total shots and shots on target per game are all worse than last season, in the bottom three of the Premier League in every category, and the lowest of any point of Lambert's time in charge.Lambert's tactics have always been to be well-organised at the back, to get men behind the ball and then look to hit teams with pace on the break or threaten from set-pieces.The way they play is not pretty and it has not changed during Lambert's time in charge.The reason it is working better than ever is down to their players. Individually, they are flourishing.Ashley Westwood and Fabian Delph have emerged as key figures with their passing and tackling ability and it is no surprise Westwood is being tipped to follow Delph into the England squad.And with the arrivals of Tom Cleverley and Kieran Richardson, Lambert has built a squad full of hard-working and energetic midfielders, who are crucial for his 4-5-1 system to work by limiting space for the opposition and stopping them from creating clear chances.A perfect example of that was at Anfield last weekend. Liverpool had lots of possession and 18 efforts on goal. Only one of them was on target.It was no fluke - Villa keeper Brad Guzan has only faced 10 shots this season, and only Stoke (with six) fare better in that category in the top flight.The reason Villa are so well-drilled is the work they are doing on the training ground.That is where they have made the progress that Lambert refers to, not with their playing style.What the statistics do not show you is how Lambert has given them a system they believe in, and one that gets the best out of his players.They bring their work ethic as well as a never-say-die attitude and, when you put all that together, it means that, despite creating so few chances, Villa are proving so hard to beat.I want to get one thing straight - I have not tipped this Villa side to go down.Before a ball was kicked this season, I looked at who they had signed, which at that stage was Philippe Senderos, Joe Cole and Kieran Richardson, and, with Christian Benteke out with a long-term injury, I thought they would end up in the bottom three.But after the transfer window had closed, when the likes of Tom Cleverley and Carlos Sanchez had been brought in, I tipped them to finish 15th.
BBC Football "expert" Robbie Savage blurtedQuoteAston Villa have surprised a lot of people, including me, with the way they have started the season, but if you look at their statistics their success might come as even more of a shock.Villa, who take on Arsenal on Saturday, are unbeaten and second in the table after taking 10 points from their first four games, including a victory over Liverpool at Anfield last weekend.When Villa boss Paul Lambert signed a new contract this week he said his team were making progress, and put that down to their hard work.He is definitely right about the hard work, but any 'progress' is more debatable.Results have improved dramatically but the team is not doing anything differently to last season when they struggled, and Lambert was under pressure after losing a club-record 10 league games at home.In fact, in almost every other way, Villa are doing worse.They have won three out of their four games despite managing a total of only six shots on target all season, the fewest in the top flight. They have scored with four of them.And their stats for passing, passing accuracy, possession, total shots and shots on target per game are all worse than last season, in the bottom three of the Premier League in every category, and the lowest of any point of Lambert's time in charge.Lambert's tactics have always been to be well-organised at the back, to get men behind the ball and then look to hit teams with pace on the break or threaten from set-pieces.The way they play is not pretty and it has not changed during Lambert's time in charge.The reason it is working better than ever is down to their players. Individually, they are flourishing.Ashley Westwood and Fabian Delph have emerged as key figures with their passing and tackling ability and it is no surprise Westwood is being tipped to follow Delph into the England squad.And with the arrivals of Tom Cleverley and Kieran Richardson, Lambert has built a squad full of hard-working and energetic midfielders, who are crucial for his 4-5-1 system to work by limiting space for the opposition and stopping them from creating clear chances.A perfect example of that was at Anfield last weekend. Liverpool had lots of possession and 18 efforts on goal. Only one of them was on target.It was no fluke - Villa keeper Brad Guzan has only faced 10 shots this season, and only Stoke (with six) fare better in that category in the top flight.The reason Villa are so well-drilled is the work they are doing on the training ground.That is where they have made the progress that Lambert refers to, not with their playing style.What the statistics do not show you is how Lambert has given them a system they believe in, and one that gets the best out of his players.They bring their work ethic as well as a never-say-die attitude and, when you put all that together, it means that, despite creating so few chances, Villa are proving so hard to beat.I want to get one thing straight - I have not tipped this Villa side to go down.Before a ball was kicked this season, I looked at who they had signed, which at that stage was Philippe Senderos, Joe Cole and Kieran Richardson, and, with Christian Benteke out with a long-term injury, I thought they would end up in the bottom three.But after the transfer window had closed, when the likes of Tom Cleverley and Carlos Sanchez had been brought in, I tipped them to finish 15th.
Quote from: Pete3206 on September 20, 2014, 11:47:26 AMBBC Football "expert" Robbie Savage blurtedQuoteAston Villa have surprised a lot of people, including me, with the way they have started the season, but if you look at their statistics their success might come as even more of a shock.Villa, who take on Arsenal on Saturday, are unbeaten and second in the table after taking 10 points from their first four games, including a victory over Liverpool at Anfield last weekend.When Villa boss Paul Lambert signed a new contract this week he said his team were making progress, and put that down to their hard work.He is definitely right about the hard work, but any 'progress' is more debatable.Results have improved dramatically but the team is not doing anything differently to last season when they struggled, and Lambert was under pressure after losing a club-record 10 league games at home.In fact, in almost every other way, Villa are doing worse.They have won three out of their four games despite managing a total of only six shots on target all season, the fewest in the top flight. They have scored with four of them.And their stats for passing, passing accuracy, possession, total shots and shots on target per game are all worse than last season, in the bottom three of the Premier League in every category, and the lowest of any point of Lambert's time in charge.Lambert's tactics have always been to be well-organised at the back, to get men behind the ball and then look to hit teams with pace on the break or threaten from set-pieces.The way they play is not pretty and it has not changed during Lambert's time in charge.The reason it is working better than ever is down to their players. Individually, they are flourishing.Ashley Westwood and Fabian Delph have emerged as key figures with their passing and tackling ability and it is no surprise Westwood is being tipped to follow Delph into the England squad.And with the arrivals of Tom Cleverley and Kieran Richardson, Lambert has built a squad full of hard-working and energetic midfielders, who are crucial for his 4-5-1 system to work by limiting space for the opposition and stopping them from creating clear chances.A perfect example of that was at Anfield last weekend. Liverpool had lots of possession and 18 efforts on goal. Only one of them was on target.It was no fluke - Villa keeper Brad Guzan has only faced 10 shots this season, and only Stoke (with six) fare better in that category in the top flight.The reason Villa are so well-drilled is the work they are doing on the training ground.That is where they have made the progress that Lambert refers to, not with their playing style.What the statistics do not show you is how Lambert has given them a system they believe in, and one that gets the best out of his players.They bring their work ethic as well as a never-say-die attitude and, when you put all that together, it means that, despite creating so few chances, Villa are proving so hard to beat.I want to get one thing straight - I have not tipped this Villa side to go down.Before a ball was kicked this season, I looked at who they had signed, which at that stage was Philippe Senderos, Joe Cole and Kieran Richardson, and, with Christian Benteke out with a long-term injury, I thought they would end up in the bottom three.But after the transfer window had closed, when the likes of Tom Cleverley and Carlos Sanchez had been brought in, I tipped them to finish 15th.So he did tip us to go down, he just changed his mind. The bloke is an absolute twat.